totally creative!

We are all blanket! Yes - you too!

creativity in the moment!

courage and love!

THE MOMENT
The day of the race arrives. Father and son reminisce about what it took for Derek to get to this point. They talk about ignoring past heartbreaks, past failures. They agree that if anything bad happens, no matter what it is, Derek has to finish the race, period.

The top four finishers in each of the two semifinal heats qualify for the Olympic final. As race time approaches for the semifinal 400 heat, Jim heads up to his seat at the top of Olympic Stadium, not far from where the Olympic torch was lit just a few days earlier. He is wearing a T-shirt that reads, "Have you hugged your foot today?"

With the help of his father, an injured Derek Redmond completed his race in the 1992 Olympics.

The stadium is packed with 65,000 fans, bracing themselves for one of sport's greatest and most exciting spectacles. The race begins and Redmond breaks from the pack and quickly seizes the lead. "Keep it up, keep it up," Jim says to himself.

Down the backstretch, only 175 meters away from finishing, Redmond is a shoo-in to make the finals. Suddenly, he hears a pop. In his right hamstring. He pulls up lame, as if he had been shot.

"Oh, no," Jim says to himself. His face pales. His leg quivering, Redmond begins hopping on one leg, then slows down and falls to the track. As he lays on the track, clutching his right hamstring, a medical personnel unit runs toward him. At the same time, Jim Redmond, seeing his son in trouble, races down from the top row of the stands, sidestepping people, bumping into others. He has no credential to be on the track, but all he thinks about is getting to his son, to help him up. "I wasn't going to be stopped by anyone," he later tells the media.

On the track, Redmond realizes his dream of an Olympic medal is gone. Tears run down his face. "All I could think was, 'I'm out of the Olympics -- again,'" he would say.

As the medical crew arrives with a stretcher, Redmond tells them, "No, there's no way I'm getting on that stretcher. I'm going to finish my race."

Then, in a moment that will live forever in the minds of millions, Redmond lifts himself to his feet, ever so slowly, and starts hobbling down the track. The other runners have finished the race, with Steve Lewis of the U.S. winning the contest in 44.50. Suddenly, everyone realizes that Redmond isn't dropping out of the race by hobbling off to the side of the track. No, he is actually continuing on one leg. He's going to attempt to hobble his way to the finish line. All by himself. All in the name of pride and heart.

Slowly, the crowd, in total disbelief, rises and begins to roar. The roar gets louder and louder. Through the searing pain, Redmond hears the cheers, but "I wasn't doing it for the crowd," he would later say. "I was doing it for me. Whether people thought I was an idiot or a hero, I wanted to finish the race. I'm the one who has to live with it."

One painful step at a time, each one a little slower and more painful than the one before, his face twisted with pain and tears, Redmond limps onward, and the crowd, many in tears, cheer him on.

Suddenly, Jim Redmond finally gets to the bottom of the stands, leaps over the railing, avoids a security guard, and runs out to his son, with two security people chasing after him. "That's my son out there," he yells back to security, "and I'm going to help him."

Finally, with Derek refusing to surrender and painfully limping along the track, Jim reaches his son at the final curve, about 120 meters from the finish, and wraps his arm around his waist.

"I'm here, son," Jim says softly, hugging his boy. "We'll finish together." Derek puts his arms around his father's shoulders and sobs.

Together, arm in arm, father and son, with 65,000 people cheering, clapping and crying, finish the race, just as they vowed they would. A couple steps from the finish line, and with the crowd in an absolute frenzy, Jim releases the grip he has on his son, so Derek could cross the finish line by himself. Then he throws his arms around Derek again, both crying, along with everyone in the stands and on TV.

"I'm the proudest father alive," he tells the press afterwards, tears in his eyes. "I'm prouder of him than I would have been if he had won the gold medal. It took a lot of guts for him to do what he did."

On fire!

If you are judged ...

At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled children, the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he offered a question: 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the natural order of things in my son?'

The audience was stilled by the query.

The father continued. 'I believe, that when a child like Shay, physically and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people treat that child.'

Then he told the following story:

Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked, 'Do you think they'll let me play?' Shay's father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their team, but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.

Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and said, 'We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth inning.'

Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a team shirt. His Father watched with a small tear in his eye and warmth in his heart. The boys saw the father's joy at his son being accepted. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still behind by three. In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be next at bat.

At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the game? Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was all but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, much less connect with the ball.

However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay. As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball right back to the pitcher.

The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been out and that would have been the end of the game.

Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out of reach of all team mates. Everyone from the stands and both teams started yelling, 'Shay, run to first! Run to first!' Never in his life had Shay ever run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled.

Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the base. By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had the ball ... the smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to be the hero for his team. He could have thrown the ball to the second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intentions so he, too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him circled the bases toward home.

All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the way Shay'

Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third! Shay, run to third!'

As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on their feet screaming, 'Shay, run home! Run home!' Shay ran to home, stepped on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the game for his team.

'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity into this world'.

Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never forgotten being the hero and making his father so happy, and coming home and seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!

AND NOW A LITTLE FOOTNOTE TO THIS STORY: We all send thousands of jokes through the e-mail without a second thought, but when it comes to sending messages about life choices, people hesitate. The crude, vulgar, and often obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about decency is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.

If you're thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that you're probably sorting out the people in your address book who aren't the 'appropriate' ones to receive this type of message. Well, the person who sent you this believes that we all can make a difference. We all have thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural order of things.' So many seemingly trivial interactions between two people present us with a choice: Do we pass along a little spark of love and humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a little bit colder in the process?

A wise man once said every society is judged by how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.

Develop the mind

"Develop the mind of equilibrium. You will always be getting praise and blame, but do not let either affect the poise of the mind: follow the calmness, the absence of pride.”
-Buddha Shakyamuni, Sutta Nipata

This is how to create buzz!

THIS IS BEAUTIFUL -- PLEASE WATCH!!!!

If you have a minute, please watch the following video clip it is a beautiful story of Johnny, the grocery store bagger. It is very short, but it will remind you of why and how we make an impact in what we do. You may even want to share it with others & I hope you will. Make Their Day, too!

Click Here To View The Movie!

string theory for summies! :)

the real magic from Africa....

http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/198
Nature and geomancy in Africa are the roots of your pda!

It doesn't have to be perfect to be truly great!

Love a lion!

Toltec Wisdom

Truth happens!

Shift also happens.

call of the entrepreneur...

A little light of reality on the subject!

Sometimes we are blind and sometimes..

Just up the road from my home is a field,
with two horses in it.
From a distance, each looks like every other horse.
But if you stop your car, or are walking by,
you will notice something quite amazing.
Looking into the eyes of one horse will disclose that he is blind. His owner has chosen not to have him put down, but has made a good home for him.
This alone is amazing.
If you are nearby and listening, you will hear the sound of a bell.
Looking around for the source of the sound, you will see
that it comes from the smaller horse in the field.
Attached to her halter is a small bell.
It lets her blind friend know where she is,
so he can follow her.
As you stand and watch these two friends,
you'll see how she is always checking on him,
and that he will listen for her bell and then
slowly walk to where she is, trusting that she
will not lead him astray.
When she returns to the shelter of the barn each evening,
she stops occasionally and looks back, making sure her
friend isn't too far behind to hear the bell.

That is one spectacular recovery!

chasing happiness?

Are you scared yet?

Fear is not the problem. You can have your fear and allow it to stop you, or you can have your fear and risk anyway. Either way, the fear is there. The choice is yours.

Are you discerning or...

Now here is the challenge. Life on this planet will require a great deal of discernment - wise evaluation of what is true, what is appropriate and what is for the highest good, both for yourself and for the planet.

In many ways discernment is similar to judgment. However, you will know when you are in judgment and when you have moved out of your heart when you are in a place of blame.

(author unknown)

This is the way to die!

Time values...

To realize
The value of four years:
Ask a graduate.

To realize
The value of one year:
Ask a student who
Has failed a final exam.

To realize
The value of nine months:
Ask a mother who gave birth to a still born.

To realize
The value of one month:
Ask a mother who has given birth to a premature baby.

To realize
The value of one week:
Ask an editor of a weekly newspaper.

To realize
The value of one hour:
Ask the lovers who are waiting to Meet.

To realize
The value of one minute:
Ask a person
Who has missed the train, bus or plane.

To realize
The value of one-second:
Ask a person
Who has survived an accident.

To realize
The value of one millisecond:
Ask the person who has won a silver medal in the Olympics.

To realize the value of a friend:
Lose one.

Time waits For no one.
Treasure every moment you have.

(author unknown)

Just because it made me really chuckle!

I have 3 cats who think they should be obeyed at all times too! Laughing is good for the soul!

Be compassionate

If you see something you don't like about the way you are AND you beat your self up for it, pretty soon you will have trained yourself to stop looking!

Hating and rejecting myself in this moment is not good practice for loving and accepting myself in another.

Extracts from Cheri Huber

Truly, anything is possible!

What makes your success valid?

Sometimes I have to struggle to make the prize worthwhile. No pain no gain - kind of.
When the truth could also simply be - no pain, no pain!
Is my success less valid if it came easily?

So what is our excuse?

How Bill Gates did it....

"Our success has really been based on partnerships
from the very beginning."

- Bill Gates

I love that technology is moving so FAST!

If it was working....

It is good to keep in mind that if the answers you already have were working for you, you wouldn't still be looking.
It takes a lot of courage to step into uncharted territory. We are not going to say this journey won't be scary, but we can promise it will be worthwhile.
Cheri Huber - Being Present in the Darkness.

Listen up!

The way you listen to others becomes their opinion of
themselves. If you listen as though what you’re hearing is extraordinarily valuable, you make the other person feel extraordinarily valuable. What’s more, if you listen for extraordinary value, you hear it. In fact, the way you listen makes it extraordinarily valuable because you’re hearing things you would not otherwise have heard. You draw insights out of others they may not even know they had. Your listening expands them, their contribution and their connection with you. It’s a beautiful thing.

From Mike Lipkin.

"We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations."

- Charles R. Swindoll

If you are the frog...

There is a great philosophy that says something to the effect of: Eat the frog first thing in the morning and then the rest of your day is easy!.

That said, if you are the frog.......

Don't hope - decide!

Don't Hope, Friend...Decide!
While waiting to pick up a friend at the airport in Portland, Oregon, I had one of those life changing experiences that you hear other people talk about. You know, the kind that sneaks up on you unexpectedly? Well, this one occurred a mere two feet away from me!

Straining to locate my friend among the passengers deplaning through the jetway, I noticed a man coming toward me carrying two light bags. He stopped right next to me to greet his family.

First, he motioned to his youngest son (maybe six years old) as he laid down his bags. They gave each other a long, and movingly loving hug. As they separated enough to look in each other's face, I heard the father say, "It's so good to see you, son. I missed you so much!" His son smiled somewhat shyly, diverted his eyes, and replied softly, "Me too, Dad!"

Then the man stood up, gazed in the eyes of his oldest son (maybe 9 or 10) and while cupping his son's face in his hands he said, "You're already quite the young man. I love you very much Zach!" They too hugged a most loving, tender hug. His son said nothing. No reply was necessary.

While this was happening, a baby girl (perhaps one or one and a half) was squirming excitedly in her mother's arms, never once taking her little eyes off the wonderful sight of her returning father. The man said, "Hi babygirl!" as he gently took the child from her mother. He quickly kissed her face all over and then held her close to his chest while rocking her from side to side. The little girl instantly relaxed and simply laid her head on his shoulder and remained motionless in total pure contentment.

After several moments, he handed his daughter to his oldest son and declared, "I've saved the best for last!" and proceeded to give his wife the longest, most passionate kiss I ever remember seeing. He gazed into her eyes for several seconds and then silently mouthed, "I love you so much!" They stared into each other's eyes, beaming big smiles at one another, while holding both hands. For an instant, they reminded me of newlyweds but I knew by the age of their kids that they couldn't be. I puzzled about it for a moment, then realized how totally engrossed I was in the wonderful display of unconditional love not more than an arm's length away from me. I suddenly felt uncomfortable, as if I were invading something sacred, but was amazed to hear my own voice nervously ask, "Wow! How long have you two been married?"

"Been together fourteen years total, married twelve of those," he replied without breaking his gaze from his lovely wife's face. "Well then, how long have you been away?" I asked. The man finally looked at me, still beaming his joyous smile and told me, "Two whole days!"

Two days?! I was stunned! I was certain by the intensity of the greeting I just witnessed that he'd been gone for at least several weeks, if not months, and I know my expression betrayed me. So I said almost offhandedly, hoping to end my intrusion with some semblance of grace (and to get back to searching for my friend), "I hope my marriage is still that passionate after twelve years!"

The man suddenly stopped smiling. He looked me straight in the eye, and with an intensity that burned right into my soul, he told me something that left me a different person. He told me, "Don't hope friend...decide." Then he flashed me his wonderful smile again, shook my hand and said, "God bless!" With that, he and his family turned and energetically strode away together.

I was still watching that exceptional man and his special family walk just out of sight when my friend came up to me and asked, "What'cha looking at?" Without hesitating, and with a curious sense of certainty, I replied, "My future!"

Michael D. Hargrove
© Copyright 1997 by Michael D. Hargrove. All rights reserved. Used with author's permission. Visit Michael's website at: www.bluinc.com

When to share your dreams

Truly useful words from Greg Mooers:

Never share your dreams with people who don't have the power or resources to make them come true.
Share your dreams everyday with one person who has the desire and the resources to make them come true.

Proof of a bad cause

It is the proof of a bad cause when it is applauded by the mob.
Seneca

Whoooo Hooo!

“Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the
intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well
preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways,
chocolate in one hand, champagne in the other, body
thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming
“WOO HOO what a ride!”

Deathbed regrets

Some of the most common ones are:
I wish I had:
spent more time in reflection
taken more risks
left a valuable legacy
said more "I love you"'s
had laughed more

No-one says - I wish I had spent more time at the office! More time stressing and worrying.
Been safer or more serious.

This is not a dress rehearsal.
There is no do-over.
This is your moment - Laugh! Live! Love! Create! Learn!(reading this blog does count:)

Decide on your desired outcomes.
Consider all your options.
Choose a set of actions.
Get out there and do it!
Receive the feedback, use it to aim better and do it some more!

When are you living?

My darling coach, Nada, had me put stickies all over my home with that question on it.

It became instantly obvious that anytime I was scared - I had my full attention on the future.
Anytime I was sad or angry - I was focusing on the past.

There are many good things to remember and delight in from the past and many exciting things to anticipate in the future.

If I want to feel more powerful and alive, I focus on the now.

We can only experience this moment - now. And then this one - now.
We can never experience the ones that have passed or the ones to come. Feeling regret, anger and fear is me using this moment thinking about one that is now entirely in my mind.

Less than the highest and best use of my moment, wouldn't you say?

Want to be fulfilled?

Getting more and better stuff aint gonna do it!
Fulfillment blossoms inside you and cannot be painted on, tacked on or piled on the outside!

Can you just be with people?

It is an empowering belief that people are whole and just exactly right.
On an existential level, their entire life is exactly what they went to enormous effort to create. This is their creation to experience.
How astonishingly arrogant of me to assume there is something wrong with them or their life!
I have no need or right to go in and try to change things for them.

On the contrary this is an opportunity for me to admire how completely and excellently they created their world.

Does this mean that I never help or support another person? Of course not.
They are in my life for my experience. I can offer any sort of support that I choose to, to create my experience. I just need to remember that I am doing it for me, because I wish to support and not because they are broken.

Also, I can only offer it.
I cannot force them to change in anyway.

Are you breaking people?

In order to believe that people need help we must first believe they are "help-less"!
To believe they need to be fixed in some way, we must believe they are broken!

People are astonishingly obliging. They will live into your story.
Make it a good story!

Get your heart's desire

The yearning for things in your life (like: sympathy, love, confidence) is your soul communicating to you that that is your special gift to the world!
Be the wellspring of that sympathy, love, inspiration, (fill in the blank) for the people around you.
Call it forth from deep inside you. Give it away.
Understand that to give it away......you had to have it first!

An understanding highlighted by Greg Mooers.

"Get" your to do list!

My mother (fabulous woman) had a lovely saying - if everything on your "to do" list is done - you are probably dead.

I have sometimes wondered about how that works and came across a great explanation!
Like gravity, there is a force of nature Greg Mooers named "Evolity" This is the constant yearning in the human to always improve - themselves, their environment, the people around them :)

Since you are never going to be "done" there is no point in racing to get it " all done".

The doing is the only thing. There is no final destination - only the journey.

Get over it and start enjoying the ride.

Your health may be at risk

There is a placebo effect. We know it well. If you believe the pill will help - it will, regardless.
There is also it's opposite, the nocebo effect. If you believe you will be harmed - you will, regardless of whether that is true or not.

What have you been believing recently that may be dramatically affecting your health and happiness?

Thanks Greg Mooers!

Ideas about Listening

Listening is like a muscle - exercise it!
When people stop listening, stop talking.
Listening heals "psycho-sclerosis - hardening of the attitudes.
Listening is the opposite of knowing.
Listening teaches others from the inside-out.

Beautiful definition of listening - How I express myself through you.
Think about it.


Ideas from Greg Mooers book - Heart Virtues.

What really and truly motivates you?

Understanding us:
Our behaviours come from our beliefs - internal source.
Going deeper: Beliefs are born out of our values - internal source again.

Going still deeper: Values....these come from our family, friends, society, environment, religion, education - EXTERNAL source!!^^%@~!

How deeply considering what your most essential values really are? Make NO assumptions!
Start living from the inside -out!

I have just finished reading Greg Mooers' book Heart Virtues and am fascinated by the concepts like this one!

" There once was an old man who had many troubles. Life seemed to hand him one difficulty after another, but he faced each obstacle with a smile and a cheery disposition. An acquaintance of the man's finally asked him how he managed to stay so happy despite his hardships. The old man quickly answered: "Well, the Bible often says, 'And it came to pass,' but never once does it say, 'It came to stay.'"
Excerpt from Harvey Mackay's newsletter

So, how are you beautiful?

"When you get right down to the root of the meaning of the word 'succeed,' you find that it simply means to follow through."

- F. W. Nichol

"First comes thought; then organization of that thought, into ideas and plans; then transformation of those plans into reality. The beginning, as you will observe, is in your imagination."

- Napoleon Hill

"Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet
is fighting some kind of battle."

I love the punch line

Good Math!

If:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Is represented as:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 2122 23 24 25 26

Then:

H-A-R-D-W-O-R- K
8+1+18+4+23+15+18+11 = 98%

and

K-N-O-W-L-E-D-G-E
11+14+15+23+12+5+4+7+5 = 96%

But,

A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E
1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5 = 100%

:) :)

And remember:


amateurs built the ark ..


professionals


built the Titanic.

I am delighted he took the chance!

Someone famous said :

We do not see things as they are - we see things as we are!

He certainly has some fabulous points!

all kinds of beautiful!

If we loved ourselves...

If we loved ourselves as much as we love our children (which would be appropriate) then we would probably take really good care of ourselves....
...eat our fruits and veggies, not watch violence, get sleep, not drink or smoke or sleep around, exercise and so on.
When we deeply love ourselves, just the way we are, right now, we could really be good to ourselves. (Bear in mind - we don't get another now in which we are different or better.)

We might even say caring things to ourselves inside our own heads!
Have a compassionate night!
K

Trust your heart and gut!

It has now been proven that both your heart and your gut - specifically your ileo-sacral valve (sp?) have nerve cells that are exactly the same as the ones in your brain. Both your heart and gut can "think". The thing is that they are both connected to your hind brain or primitive brain. This means that if you pay attention you can "feel" what they are thinking.
Their messages are not filtered by your front brain - the home of all those doubting voices in your head, so you can trust that they are more accurate!

Way cool - listen to your heart!

The trap of praise

People use words and concepts they know to express themselves.
What we say speaks volumes about who we are.
It says very little about the person we are talking of.

It is generally easy to remember that when someone has said something mean. We can puff up and say, "That's not true. What they said just proves how foolish they are."
And that may or mat not be true.

What is true is what they said, whatever it was, reveals exactly who they are and how they think.

It is generally harder to remember this when someone says something flattering. We instantly want to agree. We want to believe that they are wise and right and wonderful. The trouble with that is, if you get hooked on the pleasure of believing the "nice" things people say about you, you are hooked on believing the things they say. That includes the "not-so-nice" ones too.

You can't believe in light if you don't believe in darkness.
No heads without a tail to go with it.

Neither are essentially true things about you.
Don't take it personally.
It is simply information. About them!

What is true about you, is what you say!

Technical note:
But what about if lots of people say the same things about you? Is it true then?
Nope.
It is worth considering that something you are doing is causing a number of people around you to react in a specific way. Notice that. Then you can decide whether you like that reaction or want to change it.

It is feedback about a behaviour. It is still not TRUE about you. YOU are not your behaviour.
Your behaviour is something you manage to create specific effects in the world.

Have a "noticing" day!
:) Karen

"How often I found where I should
be going only by setting out for
somewhere else."
-R. Buckminster Fuller

A Quick Review of My Basic Success Formula

By Michael Masterson

1. Become an expert at something valuable.

It could be selling. Or marketing. Or managing salespeople and marketers. It could be developing new products. Or managing those who do.

2. Build a support network.

Get people on your side, both inside and outside your company. The best way to get people to support you is to spend your time trying to support them. Make a list of individuals whose advice you admire and start to actively champion their views.

3. Be caring.

Promote those below you. Mentor those who have potential. Care about your business, your products, and your employees - and let everyone know that you do.

4. Act before you have all the facts.

In other words, Ready, Fire, Aim! Lawrence Weinbach, CEO of Unisys, said it this way: "If you want to be a leader, you have to make decisions with 75 percent of the facts. If you wait for 95 percent, you are going to be a follower."

"Love is metaphysical gravity."
Buckminster Fuller
Bring it on!

Idea to live by:

When you are falling - dive!
I read this in one of Cheri Huber's books.

Remember: "What others do or say is their stuff; how we react, or not, is our stuff!"

Phil Evans

Nothing enlightened about shrinking

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

(Although the quotation is often attributed to Nelson Mandela, it was actually written by Marianne Williamson)

Amazing Hand Shadow Show by Raymond Crowe

The creativity!!! Wow!

How to grow...

Muscles grow when they meet resistance.
Here is a thought - you may have been gifted with a family that will resist the muscle you need to grow the most.....
:)

I recently heard this gem from Greg Mooers.

Consider the following phenomenal achievements of famous people who experienced severe adversity:

• When Bob Dylan performed at his high school talent show, classmates booed him off the stage.
• Walt Disney experienced both bankruptcy and a tragic nervous breakdown and still made it to the top of the mountain.
• President Harry S. Truman went broke in the men's clothing store he started.
• Sir Walter Raleigh wrote the "History of the World" during a 13-year imprisonment.
• Martin Luther translated the Bible while enduring confinement in the Castle of Wartburg.
• Dante wrote the "Divine Comedy" while under a sentence of death and during 20 years in exile.
• Handicapped at birth, Helen Keller was not able to speak, hear or see during her long life, yet she became a famous author and worldwide celebrity for her charm and wisdom.

From Harvey Mackay

knowledge - truly pays!

An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.
-Benjamin Franklin

Think of what they achieved!

From John Forde
August 27, 2007

In John Forde's always interesting Copywriter's Roundtable, he talked about writing under pressure and setting deadlines this month. His main point was that you can get a lot of writing done if you sit yourself down in a chair and get to work. You don't need lots of time. You don't need inspiration. You just need a strong work ethic and a willingness to work under the pressure of deadlines.

John lists the following people as exemplars:

- Trollope, the novelist, churned out volumes of worthy fiction, writing in the few hours before work every day.
- Einstein discovered the theory of relativity during lunch breaks and evenings, while working as a postal clerk.
- Wallace Stevens, the poet, did his best work in his head, while walking to his office at the insurance company.
- William Carlos Williams, on the other hand, wrote his poems on the back of prescription pads - while waiting for patients in his medical practice.

Even celeb author J.K. Rowlings - John points out - wrote her first Harry Potter book in short daily bursts, while her kids took naps. Now she's the world's first writer-billionaire.

leadership idea

"Leadership can be thought of as a capacity to define oneself to others in a way that clarifies and expands a vision of the future."

- Edwin H. Friedman
Courtesy of Early to Rise

Are you a bonsai?

Here is an interesting thought I gleaned from Wilbert Alix:

Without a sense of where you came from and a sense of connection with your ancestors you may be like a bonsai - tiny, stunted tree with no roots.

Interview Masaru Emoto

more on the water!!

Messages In Water - The Power of Words

Dr. Masaru Emoto ran a series of test on distilled water, exposing it to music, spoken words, typed words, pictures and videos. The water was frozen at -25C for 3 hrs, and then maintained at -5C while a microscopic camera took pictures of the frozen molecules of water. He took pictures of water not exposed to messages, and then of water exposed to different messages using different media. The Water showed definite affects / imprinting of the messages. We are made of 60% water and the earth is 80%. What imprinting are we imposing? That is our choice. But it is pretty cool that we literally can make the World a more beautiful place.

Giving!

A common phrase that is frequently misunderstood: to give is better than to receive.
The misunderstanding comes from a mistranslation that has become standard.
The original actually said that: to be in a position to give is better than to be in a position of need.
I know you will instantly appreciate the huge difference between the two.
The standard version has led to a general perception that receiving is bad - that is just poor maths - someone has to be receiving for you to be giving.

So much to look forward to!

The dot-com boom-and-bust is often compared to the 1849 Gold Rush, and Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos offers historical evidence showing how similar they were: from the riches made by pioneers to the media hype that attracted luckless speculators. But a better analogy can be found in the early days of the electric industry, he says. In the late 1800s, the U.S. was first wired to support lightbulbs; the following century saw a long procession of new appliances, life-changing advances, and of course some amusing failures. His conclusion in 2003: "I believe there's more innovation ahead of us than behind us."

Why do we do what we do?
In this fast-paced talk (clocking in far shorter than his typical three-day seminars), iconic motivational speaker Tony Robbins explains how to unlock your true potential, and asks the audience (including former Vice President Al Gore) for a bit of high-level interaction. The spontaneous on-stage interaction between Gore and Robbins creates an unforgettable TED moment, and also demonstrates the power of Robbins' direct -- even confrontational -- approach, which calls on his listeners to look within themselves, and find the inner blocks that prevent them from finding fulfillment

Good to know!
Psychologist Barry Schwartz takes aim at a central belief of western societies: that freedom of choice leads to personal happiness. In Schwartz's estimation, all that choice is making us miserable. We set unreasonably high expectations, question our choices before we even make them, and blame our failures entirely on ourselves. His relatable examples, from consumer products (jeans, TVs, salad dressings) to lifestyle choices (where to live, what job to take, whom and when to marry), underscore this central point: Too many choices undermine happiness.

Thank you, O Great One, that I live now!

Lets re-grow our bodies!

Alan Russell studies regenerative medicine -- a breakthrough way of thinking about disease and injury by helping the body to rebuild itself. He shows how engineered tissue that "speaks the body's language" has helped a man regrow his lost fingertip, how stem cells can rebuild damaged heart muscle, and how cell therapy can regenerate the skin of burned soldiers. This new, low-impact medicine comes just in time, Russell says -- our aging population, with its steeply rising medical bills, will otherwise (and soon) cause a crisis in health care systems around the world. Some graphic medical imagery.

Derren Brown - Subliminal Advertising

How stunning the understanding of how we work! Be-a-ware!

Facing the Giants

WOW!!

This is a fabulous example of the power of belief!

Amazing what the mind can do!

Here are two people I can really learn from!

Hello world!
Thanks to Nada I decided that since I have such an amazing collection of things that inspire me, I needed to share them with you!
I would love to hear of any stories or videos or photos that inspire you - please send me the links!!
Hope this inspiring for you too!
Karen